


A Grand (Canyon) Day Out

by Sonni89



Category: Bandstand - Oberacker/Oberacker & Taylor
Genre: F/M, Post-Canon, Road Trips, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 00:38:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13135494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sonni89/pseuds/Sonni89
Summary: Who knew the Grand Canyon was so far away?





	A Grand (Canyon) Day Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [spyglass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spyglass/gifts).



> Happy holidays and happy Yuletide, spyglass! I loved this show and couldn't resist writing you a treat. 
> 
> Thank you to my beta, katayla.

  _April 1949_

“Wake up, Julia,” Donny said, gently shaking her shoulder and kissing her on the forehead. “We have big plans today!”

“We do?” Julia asked groggily. “It’s barely even light out.” It couldn’t be much later than six. She checked the alarm clock on the nightstand. “It’s only six-thirty.”

“It is, but we’ve got to be back for tonight’s show. Get up, get dressed,” he said.

She got dressed in mere minutes, and was somewhat proud of herself for managing that in her current state of tiredness.

“Come on, let’s go,” Donny said, taking Julia’s hand in his and running her out of their hotel room at the Sands. “We have to hurry up if we want breakfast before we go.”

“Where _are_ we going, Donny?” Julia asked as they walked down the corridor.

“It’s a surprise,” Donny said, smiling mischievously.

“You know I’m not very fond of surprises,” Julia said.

“You’ll like this one,” he said.

* * *

  
Donny had rented a Cadillac, which Julia deemed incredibly frivolous at first, but as Donny drove it out of the city, she had to admit it was a nice automobile, and she felt even fancier than she had when they were first starting out and got to take the Pullman car to New York City. She couldn’t wait to find out what he had planned.

They got a big breakfast at a diner just outside Las Vegas. Julia couldn’t decide between pancakes and French toast, so Donny ordered both for them to share, even though he was more of a scrambled eggs and bacon man.

On the road, they spent their time talking about everything except the day’s plans. Every time Julia tried to bring it up, Donny would play coy and then change the subject.

After a couple of hours, Julia had had enough. “Will you please just finally tell me where we’re going?” she asked in exasperation. “It’s been two hours.”

“No,” Donny said, and smiled. There really was no getting this out of him.

“Can you at least tell me how much longer it will be until we get to wherever we’re supposed to get to?” Julia asked instead. She yawned. Car rides always made her tired.

“It shouldn’t be long now,” Donny told her, still clearly deflecting. “Let’s play a game.”

He was trying to distract her. She knew that, and yet… “What kind of game?”

“I spy?” Donny suggested.

“There’s absolutely nothing here. It’s just sand and the occasional cactus,” Julia said, frowning.

“That’ll make it harder,” he said, laughing.

They didn’t start playing, though. Instead, Donny turned towards Julia for a quick kiss, and she was happy to indulge him, meeting him in the middle.

They rode in silence for a while. Julia felt her eyelids getting heavier and she ended up falling asleep. When she woke up, she felt disoriented for a second, but her surroundings looked the exact same they had when she fell asleep—they were still in no man’s land.

“How long was I asleep for?” Julia asked.

Donny checked, then said, “Almost three hours?” his voice going up at the end in surprise.

“What?” Julia asked, sitting up straight. She knew she hadn’t gotten enough sleep last night, but she couldn’t remember the last time she got three hours of sleep during a car ride. Then something dawned on her. “We’re still not there?” Julia asked, her voice high-pitched. That meant it was after 2 o’clock, and they had to be on stage performing in less than five hours. “Even if we turned around right now, we would still be over an hour late to our own show,” Julia said.

Donny seemed to just have realized this as well, and he seemed the slightest bit anxious now. He was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, which was his tell. He was silent, though.

“Tell me what’s going on,” Julia prompted. “I deserve to know at this point.”

Donny sighed. “Who knew the Grand Canyon was so far away?” he finally asked.

“Who knew the…” she repeated. “Everyone knew! It’s far!” Then she paused for a second. “Wait… We’re going to the Grand Canyon?” Julia’s eyes lit up for a brief moment, but it didn’t last when she realized what that meant for them. “That’s at least a six-hour trip from Las Vegas! Each way,” Julia said, trying her best not to sound too much like she was scolding him.

“Six hours? That doesn’t seem right,” Donny said, frowning. “It looked so close on the map.”

“Well, it’s not like you can go in a straight line. This is a very nice car, but it is not an airplane.” Julia sighed and shook her head in disapproval. She should know better than to give into all of Donny’s impulsive decisions, and yet…

“I am well aware, thank you,” Donny said, and turned his head the other way to sulk.

Sometimes Julia genuinely thought she had married a man-child, and moments like this confirmed it. She didn’t want a fight, though, so she didn’t push it, didn’t push him. Instead, she stayed quiet for a few minutes. So did he.

“I was just trying to do something nice,” he finally said.

“If you had told me what we were doing, I would have told you how frivolous of an idea this was, nice or not,” Julia said, trying not to sound too accusatory. He clearly had meant well, even if it’s going to end in them missing their show and getting back God knows when.

“You’ve always said that you were dying to see the Grand Canyon,” Donny said. “I just wanted to surprise you, make that happen for you. We never got to have a real honeymoon, after all.”

At that, Julia’s expression softened somewhat. Her husband may be a big kid at times, but she couldn’t be truly upset with him for being thoughtful and loving her as much as he did, even if it had been a ridiculous idea to begin with. She knew who she married.

“There’s really no point in turning back now, so, I guess I’ll finally see the Grand Canyon,” she said, trying to make peace with this and muster up excitement.

“In that case, we might as well enjoy it. Find a lodge, stay overnight, the whole thing,” Donny said, smiling at her.

That did sound lovely, Julia had to admit. A night away from the rest of their band to enjoy with her husband, in a place far away from anyone they knew, and hopefully also from anyone who knew them. They had started to get recognized in the streets now, and Julia didn’t love that. She had fallen into fame essentially by accident (or at Donny’s hand) and wasn’t quite used to its consequences yet, good or bad.

Donny pulled over at three different roadside diners until he found one that had a telephone. He rang the Sands Hotel and asked the concierge to give a message to the rest of their bandmates. They would have to cancel tonight’s show and refund people’s money. Fortunately, they could afford it. Julia worried about Wayne in particular, though. He did not like changes of plans, especially this short-notice. They would definitely have to find a way to make it up to him.

* * *

  
True to Julia’s estimation, they made it to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon six hours after they had finished breakfast.

Donny got out of the car and walked around to open the door on Julia’s side. She could barely get out of the car, she was so in awe of what she was seeing. It seemed impossible that nature could be so stunning. No, stunning didn’t quite cover it. It was more spectacular than anything else she had ever seen in life, and she had more or less forgiven Donny for his impulsiveness. How couldn’t she, when something so beautiful was right in front of her?

“I’m really glad to be here,” Julia said.

“Yeah?” Donny asked.

At her nod, he smiled, and wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her like he wouldn’t get to do that every day for the rest of his life.

They found a bench to sit down on and enjoy the view. Donny put an arm around Julia, she rested her head on his shoulder, and they stayed like that for a long while. Julia felt like she was able to breathe for the first time in months. She wasn’t sure if it was the fresh air and altitude, or if she had just really needed a break from all her responsibilities and her regular life. Maybe both.

“I don’t think I realized just how much I needed to get away,” she finally said.

“That almost sounded like a thank you,” Donny remarked.

“Not quite. We could have still planned for this once our tour was over, and not messed with everyone’s schedules,” she said.

He just stared at her.

“Fine. Thank you for making this happen for us,” she said with sincerity in her voice. “It has been lovely.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Do I get a kiss?” he asked, smiling.

“No.” She smiled at him playfully, then stuck out her tongue. “You don’t deserve quite that much.” Actually, he deserved so much more every single day.

But when his face fell and she realized he had taken her comment seriously, she quickly kissed his frown away.

* * *

  
They got a cabin at the Bright Angel Lodge with little hassle.

Barely inside the door, Julia asked, “So, what’s the plan now?”

“I could think of one or two things,” Donny said, and moved closer to Julia until he closed the distance in between them. Julia smiled into the kiss, moving her hands to cup the sides of Donny’s face, pulling him impossibly closer.

“Mmm,” Donny said, and deepened the kiss. He moved to unbutton Julia’s blouse and they fell onto the bed.

They just barely made it to dinner that night.

* * *

  
The next morning, they picked up souvenir glasses for all of their bandmates and Wayne’s favorite chocolate bar as extra incentive to forgive them. (They would also apologize profusely later on and promise to never do it again. Julia knew she would be able to keep that promise. She wasn’t so sure about Donny.)

They came back to Las Vegas with plenty of time to spare before that night’s performance.

* * *

  
_21 years later_

On their son’s wedding day, Donny tells him that the Grand Canyon was an excellent place to start a family, winking at his wife as he says it. Julia buries her face in her hands in response.

Their son just groans.


End file.
